Mike Phillips has hit out at the Wales coaching team for making ‘scapegoats of one or two players’ and believes Warren Gatland and Co should question themselves in the wake of last weekend’s Six Nations Championship loss to England at Twickenham.

In a question and answer session with All Blacks legend and Racing 92 half-back partner Dan Carter in the Daily Mail, 94-times capped Wales No.9 Phillips, who retired from Test rugby last December, believes placing too much emphasis on the players and not the back-room team merely adds to the pressure on the younger members of the Welsh team.

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Phillips said: “In Wales, the coaches often pinpoint one or two players as scapegoats. Sometimes I feel they put too much emphasis on players, which adds pressure, and not enough on themselves.

“In Wales, they like to protect the senior group and instead single out the younger guys, which I don’t think is good for them. A lot of the youngsters in Wales are a bit more confident or cocky.”

Carter revealed a different blame culture with the All Blacks, pinpointing fellow New Zealand totem Richie McCaw and his senior lieutenants as the men to carry the can for mistakes and missed tackles.